Hi, Mom! Gotta run to Dallas to get an old friend who flew in from Arizona then head up to Denton to pick up Moonglow and her boyfriend and take them to lunch, then bring Moonglow and my friend back here this evening.

The important part of the message being that I am going to go drive in Dallas. Yuck.

Stand up, stand up for Mother! Ye soldiers of BS! Let not her numbers falter, Nor fade, her noble dress! From topic unto topic Her whackos she will lea-ead. 'Til everyone is slack-jawed And BS rules indeed!

After getting up at the regular time he played computer games for a while, but I made him do all of his homework in the middle of the day before he went back to them, so it wasn't as much a holiday as he might have liked. Now he's in practicing his guitar, and I can hear him making progress. He's doing the lessons from his teacher and he's doing some of his own thing--which is as it should be.

I kept my son home from school today, even though the schools were open. I called him in sick so it wouldn't be called an unexcused absence. It looked like it was going to get really icy, and since I have to drive a lot further than most parents, and since his Dad has been out of town and might not make it back because of the weather, I figured I didn't want him home alone at his Dad's (where he catchest the bus in the morning). It has fizzled after some freezing rain and snow. Accumulations on the grass and garden, but not on the street. Looks like the district called it (but my university closed--there are so many commuters that they no doubt figured they wouldn't have many show up). Oh, well. I'll feel guilty for a little while--he's a good student and hasn't missed any other days and every day is important.

And I have indeed done hard time shoveling snow, helping stranded motorists out of a ditch, learning to control four-point skids, and other tribulations concomitant with living in a refrigerator five months of the year. This is one of the reasons I am content to reside in San Diego, where the living is a tad more laid-back by reason of our sunshine, and the salaries proportionately lower.

My childhood in Connecticut was alleviated by the Great Indoor Sport of listening to a kitchen AM radio for school closing notices during white, bright snowstorm mornings. Like playing keno -- you only won occasionally but it made your whole day when you did.

Ooooo--I hear the thunder arriving! Rapaire's cold air from Idaho is running hard into the hot warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. Ker-POW! And tomorrow we're supposed to have bad weather, but I'd better get up at the normal time anyway to see if school is open or not, or if the cold and ice or sleet materialized. When it comes to anticipating snow days, there are usually more disapointments than anything else. Usually because the weather failed to advance sufficiently.

The Idaho Legion will not be coming. In fact, they're having a hard time getting out of the Hovel right now. The groundsman, Swoopin' Sammy, got a bit too thorough in his duties last night. Sammy ran the snowblower (we've had some snow here!) and cleared the parking lot, hitching post area, and hitchiking area right down to bare pavement. Unfortunately, he did this while most member were meeting inside the Hovel and because of his lack of familiarity with the discharge chute controls he managed to bury the Hovel and everyone in it under about 10 feet of snow.

You callin' me a mole hole, boy? Well, just for your information I have VOLE holes in my yard, not your common old MOLE holes.

Oh, wait. Sorry. You said "mohel" -- the guy who only works for tips as long as he can get a cut of your action. No, I used an epee with a string-wrapped French grip and a steel blade. Blunt tip, of course; these modern rules take all the fun out of it. "Wear a mask, be sure your jacket and plastron will withstand a hit of blah-blah Newtons, use blunt tips covered with a rubber or plastic..."

Wimps, every one of 'em. Why, back in the days when I started fencing you used a sharpened blade and sharp point, and by God you KNEW when you make a touch! And none of this "protective clothing" either because you fenced in your street clothes! And we were civil, too! We saluted our opponents and shook hands after it was over. Not like today, by crackey! A man wasn't a man then until he'd been in a few...what's that, nurse? Time for my meds? Okay...

A bout of twelve hits tonight, friendly stuff. We each scored a dozen, and neither of us would have gone home unbloodied had there been points instead of tips. Come to think of it, neither of us would have had to pay hospital bills. Funeral expenses, yup, but not hospital bills.

As I tried to say earlier, the next post which is palindromic in both numbering systems is 13431, which is really 20002. They remain in sync up to 19991, diverge, and then sync again from 23432 to 29992 (public numbers)

Except the Board thought he meant his pole and his human resources, which made them think he was buggering the crew...plus the Sun Hat...I dunno, man, but....well, let's put it this way: how long since you updated your resume? I mean, a joke's a joke, and all, but these Board types can be more serious than a DLL file in a pocket calculator, if you know what I mean...

Of grand delusions, wild and faire The Master, here, is bold Rapaire Who often dreams himself a star, Or leading Foreign Legions far, Or fancies he is twirling twine Upon some cattle-pony's spine.

But of all these grand delusions, one Has beaten all the rest for fun -- Being the ancient God of Sun! There's nothing quite so lahdeedah As walking 'round dressed up as Ra!

And none who do it with the flair Brought to the vision by Rapaire! His swiveling hips and God-like gaze Are certain all the Board to faze, Though they may think such fearsome looks Were better used procuring books.

Well, Mom, today I had a meeting of the Supervisors and wore my new headgear. I have decided that I no longer want to be called "Library Director" but must be addressed as "Ra, The Living God" instead. For some reason this provoked a rather unseemly display of laughter and comments of a type I shall not mention so as to spare your ears that kind of language.

Head bursts up from the still water of the pool in the middle of an Idaho golf course. . . the swimmer gasps for breath and then pulls another form to the surface. More sputtering, followed by a slow but steady one-armed crawl to drag the almost inert form to the edge of the water trap

MOM! You were going down for the third time! I got here just in the nick of time!

Aww, he's waxing poetic, or maybe geologic (if there is limestone with clam fossils in that there part of I-dee-ho). I have oyster fossils around here in Texas, but I also have fresh water clams that get as big as the razor clams on the Washington coast. I only see the shells, not the live clams.

My team is bedded down on the hay in their stall. Seriously. I built the dogs a stall in the garage. And they're so sweet, especially today since I gave them each a bath yesterday. It's still so warm here that I toweled each off then let them dry in the back yard. Warmest November I ever remember.

Well, Mom, I've been slowly but surely listing stuff on eBay today. I'm up to 11 items now. Doesn't sound like a lot, but this is stuff that is cluttering the house (was in the garage until I moved stuff around) and needs to be donated or sold. I'll try selling it first. I figured this is a good time of year to list stuff--there are a lot more folks browsing the virtual halls of eBay in the next month than all of the rest of the year.

Back to the salt mines for a while. . . but never fear, I'll go check on the team before I lock up and run my evening bath.

Got home just a bit ago. Cattle were fine and all there, horses were in good shape. The boys took good care of the place while we were gone. Even cleaned my .30-30 after using it to shoot an elk -- then a good elk stew on the stove, slow cooked over coals, along with some of Cosi's biscuits and some Arbuckle's coffee, ain't nothin' finer this side of Paradise.

Well, I better go see to the team. They're all unhitched and brushed down, put in their stalls with some oats and hay. But ya jist gotta be sure, ya know.